Second Chances
by Lady Bagheera
Summary: A second chance for Sarah. Both with Jareth, and her little brother.
1. Default Chapter

Sarah lay down on her bed after seeing the last of her friends through the mirror-portal. Tired but happy, she fell asleep thinking of the next time she'd call them.

_An owl's wings beat against her bedroom window, the mighty blows threatening to break the glass. _

_Sarah got up to open the window, feeling as if someone else was controlling her body. Her mind ran frantically, "No, that's Jareth! I don't want to see him, I BEAT him!" but her body just kept walking. _

_She watched her hand reach out to the clasp, and open the window._

_The control of her body was released, but all she could do was duck her head and close her eyes'not wanting to see the man who'd almost won._

_He stood right in front of her; white feathers billowing in mage-born winds, and beautiful face sporting the usual haughty expression, but only for a moment. _

_He reached out to place gentle fingertips underneath her chin, and lifted it so that she was looking at him. As her eyes met his, his face softened, became full of longing. "Sarah, I need you, I love you. Please come back to me."_

_Before she could even begin to think of a response, he was gone._

She woke up gasping for breath, sitting up in bed, and eyes full of tears she didn't understand. She reached blindly to her bedside table to grab a tissue and flip the switch on her little lamp.

Laying back against her pillow, she thought she'd have trouble getting back to sleep. When she closed her eyes, all she could see was his face.

¢¼ ¢¼ ¢¼

"Sarah!" Karen called up the staircase, waiting for her step-daughter to come to her summons. "Sarah!" She turned to look at her husband, and frowned. "Why isn't she coming down? She _knows _I need her to look after Toby.

"She's probably still sleeping. I'll go wake her." He walked up the stairs, wondering if his wife and daughter would ever get along.

As he got to Sarah's bedroom door, he knocked gently. "Sarah, honey? You need to get up now."

He waited for a few moments, but when Sarah didn't reply, he opened the door.

She looked like she hadn't slept in weeks; her eyes had black bags under them and her skin looked almost transparent.

He backed out quietly, and walked downstairs to talk to his wife.

"Karen, we need to get a babysitter for Toby today."

"Absolutely not! We can't afford it right now, and it's Sarah's responsibility to watch her baby brother. She knows that, and so do you."

"Look, she's exhausted. You need to lay off her for a day so she can rest."

Furious, Karen stomped up the stairs and threw her step-daughter's door open. Stalking across the room, she pulled the comforter from Sarah, and began shaking her shoulders.

Bleary-eyed, Sarah woke up to see Karen's angry red face above her. "Wha? What's going on?" she managed to ask.

"You have to get up now! You're just a lazy teenager! How could you sleep in when you know I need you to watch your brother? He's about due for his bath, and your father and I need to go to work so we can support you." Fuming, she stood back to watch Sarah get out of bed.

Stumbling, Sarah managed to climb out of bed and wake herself up enough to talk to Karen. "I'm awake. Go to work, I'll give Toby his bath."

Karen just stalked out the door, while Sarah's father stood there looking at her with a slightly pitying expression on his face. He reached out to touch her face, gently tracing his fingertip over the dark bruises under her eyes. "Are you sure you'll be ok to watch Toby?" he asked, doubtfully.

Sarah smiled, knowing that her dad would pay for a babysitter and catch hell from Karen when she found out about it. "Yes, Dad. I'll be fine."

He turned to look at her as he walked out the door. "I'm sorry Sarah."

Five minutes later, Sarah had her brother in one hand, a breakfast shake in the other, and she was running the water for his bath. She sighed as he started to cry, and set the shake down so she could undress the baby.

She absently ran a hand under the faucet to make sure it wasn't too hot or cold, and set Toby in the tub.

_White wings flapped around her head, and his beautiful face floated in front of her. "I need you, Sarah."_

She shook her head to clear her vision and looked down at the tub so she could continue Toby's bath.

Toby was floating; his little face blue.

With a cry of horror, she lifted her baby brother out of the tub and ran downstairs to call 911.


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah heard the words as if from a deep well. "Dead on arrival."

Her mind fogged, her vision went cloudy, and she vaguely felt an arm around her to guide her to the nearest seat. _The toilet,_ she remembered. _Toby was in the bathtub…_

"Oh god, Toby!" she screamed. She fought to get to her baby brother, but it seemed like she was trying to move under water.

"Miss?" Someone was talking to her, trying to get her to answer questions about the accident.

Duly, Sarah told them she must have blacked out.

Her eyes teared as she told him that she thought she'd only been out for a moment. Certainly not long enough for Toby to have…to have…She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"It's ok, Miss. We're going to take you to the hospital now, so we can make sure you're all right." The anonymous EMT led her outside to an ambulance and helped her get in.

Turning to the woman, Sarah spoke softly. "My dad, and Karen…they have to be told." Her voice was almost dead, her eyes had glazed over, and her skin had gone grey.

She barely heard the cops say "…Probably be charged with gross negligence. Poor girl, she looks exhausted; it's no wonder she passed out. She should never have been left with the child in the first place."

♠ ♠ ♠

"Ok Sarah, why don't you tell me one more time?"

The faceless detective sat in front of her and tried to look encouraging. Sarah could see that he blamed her for Toby's death…frankly, so did she. She looked down at hands that seemed to be part of a different reality, and let her mouth tell the tale once again.

"I didn't sleep the night before, but Karen insisted that I get up to babysit Toby. My dad told her that I needed to sleep and that she should hire a babysitter, but she refused, and started yelling at me. I gave in so Dad wouldn't catch any more shit from her, and they left. I started to give him his bath, and my vision grayed for a moment. I _thought_ it was only for a moment. When I recovered and looked down, he was there," her breath hitched painfully and the picture flooded her mind. "He…he was blue, and floating just under the surface of the water. I picked him up and ran downstairs to call 911."

Throughout, the cop had taken notes; though he'd written it all down before. He looked up at this beautiful young woman, sitting here in an ugly grey jumpsuit, and felt nothing but pity. It had been her parents' fault that the boy had died, but now she was going to live with the guilt for the rest of her life.

"Miss Williams, you are going to be processed and then let go. If you don't wish to go home, I can arrange for you to be taken somewhere else."

She looked up stupidly, having expected him to tell her that they were going to charge her and take her to trial. "Isn't Toby's funeral today?" She asked. She'd been in here for three days, and she didn't quite remember what day it was.

He nodded. "Yes it is."

Sighing, she looked into his eyes, and it seemed that a part of her had returned to the present. "I would like you to take me there."

♠ ♠ ♠

Dry eyed and staring, Sarah watched her baby brother get lowered into his plot.

She walked up and dropped a red rose onto the tiny coffin, then walked away; not being able to bear the stares.

♠ ♠ ♠

The Goblin King sat on his throne and watched his love walk from the child's funeral.

"Oh, Sarah. If only you had accepted my offer." He mourned for her pain, as well as for the loss of a child he'd liked.

"My Lord?" his advisor, Kaden, asked.

Jareth looked up at the other man, and the pain in his eyes blazed from the center of his tortured expression. Carefully controlling his voice, he responded. "Yes?"

Compassion evident in his eyes, Kaden stepped forward to place a hand lightly on the King's. "Perhaps you could bring her back here? She doesn't appear to have anywhere else to go, as I doubt her step-mother will welcome her back."

Sudden inspiration lit up Jareth's face. "I think I can do a little better than merely bringing her back here. He stood in a fluid, graceful motion and placed a hand on Kaden's shoulder. "Thank you, my friend. I think I can handle it from here."

Pleased with his King's sudden improvement, but a little puzzled, Kaden risked a question. "What is it you're planning to do, My Lord?"

The Goblin King turned, dark blue starry robes swirling around his booted feet. "I have all the power allotted to me as a King of the Fae to work with…I will do anything I wish." He turned and abruptly left the room.

With eyebrows nearly in his hairline, Kaden merely smiled. It would certainly be interesting to see what Jareth had come up with.


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah opened her eyes and gasped, then squeezed them closed again. Carefully, slowly, she opened them again, and groaned when the picture before her hadn't changed any.

She stood, with the Goblin King in white feathers in front of her, on the stone walkway in the not-room.

As if in a dream, she heard him recite the words she knew so well.

"Up until now, I have been generous."

While her mind raced, she mechanically asked the expected question and got the expected answer. This time though, the phrase _'I have reordered time'_ had entirely new meaning, though she couldn't quite remember why.

Why was she back here? Hadn't she beaten him once already?

"Sarah?" his quiet voice broke into her reverie. "Do you understand what's happening?"

Numbly, she shook her head, unable to speak to this unearthly creature who so captivated her.

"Do you remember any of the last few days?" Jareth peered at her. "Do you remember what happened to Toby?"

At her brother's name, Sarah's head shot up and her expression became frantic. "Oh god, I killed Toby!" She fell in a heap to the ground, and began to sob.

Jareth gracefully stalked over to where she was sitting, folded his legs under him, and sat beside her. He reached out a tentative hand to brush the hair away from her face and spoke very quietly. "It was not your fault, Sarah. You are not to blame."

He smiled into her eyes, and lifted her up with him. "Besides, this is your second chance. None of it has happened yet, and none of it has to. Just accept my offer."

Sarah stood frozen, as he once more held the crystal out to her and made the offer she'd been hard pressed to turn down the first time.

_"Just love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave."_

Sensing her hesitation, he spoke again; this time directly to her heart. "I love you Sarah. Please stay with me. I will return Toby to your father and step-mother if that's what you wish, but please stay."

With streaming eyes, Sarah nodded and stepped toward the Goblin King. She gently took the crystal from him and looked into his eyes. "I love you too, Jareth." It was the first time she'd spoken his name, and it felt right. "This way, Toby lives, and so will I. Thank you for what you've done."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on her toes to kiss him.

Mis-matched eyes sparkling, a single tear made it's slow way down his beautiful face as he bent his head to hers and kissed the only woman who'd ever beaten him. This mortal he was madly in love with.


End file.
